By Pita Ligaiula in Savusavu
The Fiji National University (FNU) and the Fijian Media Association (FMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Pacific Centre for Media and Journalism, aimed at strengthening journalism training in Fiji and across the Pacific.
The agreement was signed during the Pacific Media Summit in Savusavu, bringing together the university, the FMA and the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) to support professional development for journalists and media workers.
FNU Vice-Chancellor Professor, Unaisi Nabobo said the partnership would help strengthen the university’s media programme while extending its reach across Fiji and the Pacific.
She said journalists and universities shared a responsibility to seek truth and serve communities, despite resource constraints.
“But you journalists are like us. We look for truth, even though resources may not be around,” Nabobo said.
She said the university had been working to reach people in rural and remote communities and saw the media partnership as another way to connect with people across the country and the region.
“The Fiji Media Association, and PINA would help us talk to the people in the country and the Pacific using our platform,” she said.
Nabobo said FNU, with close to 40,000 students across its programmes, had a responsibility to serve Fiji and the wider Pacific.
She acknowledged the challenges facing FNU’s Department of Media and said the partnership with the media industry would provide an opportunity to strengthen the programme.
“We look at you doing your job and doing it very well, and doing it with struggle, and we think this partnership with Rosi and PINA and FMA is enabling today,” Nabobo said.
She said the university would work with media organisations across the Pacific to support journalism education and professional development.
“We think we’re always seeking truth, to save the people, and to write our history, and to enable us to transform our sad histories into good futures,” she said.
FMA President, Rosi Tamani Doviverata said the signing marked an important shift for Pacific journalism, with the industry taking a leading role in shaping journalism education.
“For many years, most of us in this room sent our reporters to cover everyone else’s big moments. Today, that story is ours,” Doviverata said.
She thanked FNU for giving the media industry the opportunity to lead the new programme.
“You have given our industry something that is rarely offered, the opportunity to lead, here in Fiji and across the Pacific,” she said.
Doviverata said the rapid changes facing journalism meant training programmes needed to be shaped by journalists and editors working in newsrooms.
“The people best placed to say what a journalist needs to know are the people doing the job every day.
“That is what makes this different. The industry is not a guest in this program. It is a founding partner,” she said.
She said the programme would have a regional focus, providing opportunities for journalists from across the Pacific to train in Fiji.
“For years, when newsrooms in one of our smaller Pacific nations needed an experienced journalist, the answer was often to recruit from Fiji.
“So here’s a better offer. Don’t only hire our journalists. Send us yours. Come and train with us. Come and grow with us.”
“Fiji is ready to lead the way, and we would rather lead together than alone,” she said.
Doviverata also challenged national media associations across the Pacific to strengthen cooperation and urged development partners to support journalists who cannot afford training opportunities.
“To my fellow National Media Associations across the Pacific, a friendly challenge. We will always achieve more together,” she said.
She called on development partners to sponsor places for Pacific journalists at the centre.
“Sponsor a seat in the classroom. For a journalist for a country that cannot afford to send one, it costs no more than another workshop, and it lasts a career of several weeks,” Doviverata said.
She urged media organisations and journalists to make use of the new partnership.
“Come and grow with us,” she said.
The Pacific Media Summit also paid tribute to members of the Pacific media fraternity who have died, recognising their contribution to journalism in the region.
